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Dive Brief:
- Eastside Golf has launched its first women’s clothing collection, set to debut in three drops this month, per a company news release.
- The collection, which features more than 20 items, includes a two-piece tracksuit, banded crop tees, a jumpsuit, pique polos, skorts and dresses. All items feature Eastside Golf's script or swingman logo. The collection was co-created by lead women’s designer Narvie Hambrick Rundlet in conjunction with the brand’s co-founders.
- The new collection is available on the Eastside Golf website and app. The first products debuted Thursday, with additional drops scheduled for the following two Thursdays, ending May 23.
Dive Insight:
The women’s line launch stemmed from demand from Eastside Golf’s customers.
"Since our early days, we've had women purchasing Eastside Golf items for themselves, and asking us when we'd be entering the women's category,” Olajuwon Ajanaku, Eastside Golf co-founder and creative director, said in a statement. “But we didn't want to 'shrink and pink' our existing products; we wanted to create something authentic and considered. This is why we dedicated additional resources to bringing on designers with extensive expertise in women's apparel to create items that are both fashionable and functional, and equally at home on the street or in the clubhouse."
Female participation in golf has been growing: A report from the National Golf Foundation found that women comprised 26% of all U.S. golfers in 2023.
A separate nine-piece limited women’s collection done in collaboration with Mercedes Benz USA launched in early April. The two companies formed a partnership last October.
"We are serving women who have, up to this point, not been served by golf apparel brands in the way they deserve — they do not have the clothing options that men do, despite making up a sizeable, and increasing, portion of the golf-playing community,” Cooper, who is also the company’s CEO, said in a statement.
Founded in 2019 by Ajanaku and Earl Cooper, both of whom played on the Morehouse College golf team, Eastside Golf is projecting $10 million in sales for 2024, per the company.
The consistent theme around Eastside Golf is to promote diversity, inclusion and authenticity within the sport. The brand sponsors Community Golf Days at public golf courses, “which are focused on diversifying the sport and bringing fans of the brand together at local courses to experience the fun of golf without the financial barriers commonly found in the game.”
Eastside Golf’s foray into women’s follows a trend of other brands expanding into the category. DTC men’s active apparel brand Rhone announced its first women’s line last October and launched it this month. Indochino has been testing a women’s collection the past couple of years and launched it in all its stores last year. Workwear brand Carhartt also introduced a new women’s line this past February. And athletics brands like Nike and Under Armour have steadily been trying to build out their women’s businesses.
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Howard Ruben, Khareem Sudlow
